2008 Black Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon – $9

Sometimes, supermarket wines rise above their humble origins and really deliver the goods. There is nothing about the Black Ridge Cab that leads you to believe it is anything but average, that is until you taste it. But here it is, a nice real Cabernet Sauvignon for under 10 bucks.

Blended with a little Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah, this wine has black cherry and cassis flavors with an oaky rich finish. Steak and roast lamb would be a perfect fit.

2008 Black Ridge Vintner’s Reserve Merlot – $9

The Black Ridge Cellars Vintner’s Reserve Merlot, is one of those wines you don’t expect much from. The folks who make the wine don’t bother to mention much about the wine on their website. Where the grapes are grown, how the wine was made, the simple things are not mentioned, probably because those details are not all that interesting. There is nothing to make the Black Ridge Merlot stand out, except the price is right and it tastes great. For an everyday wine, that can be enough.

This Merlot has the smell of raspberries and herbs. Full of fruit and medium-bodied with a nice soft finish. Grilled meats – especially BBQ chicken – would be a perfect match.

2008 Cycle Buff Beauty Malbec/Shiraz $14

80% Malbec and 20% Shiraz, sourced from the Claire Valley in South Australia. 14 months in French oak Barrels (mostly 2nd and 3rd fill). The label is 1960’s biker movie meets a Russ Meyer flick – not your everyday wine label, but then again this is an Australian wine and weird is normal.

The Cycle Buff Beauty has aging potential, the winemaker suggests drinking it within the next 8 years. In checking for information on this wine, I found that the % of the blend changes, some bottles are 85% Malbec and others are 80%, so this will probably taste different depending on the blend.

The color is Thanksgiving cranberry sauce red. The nose is dark red fruit, raspberries, black cherry, along with blackberry and plums, but not fresh fruit, more like cooked fruit stew. Velvety mouth feel. Big fruit upfront, blueberry, some cherry and strawberry and  french vanilla, then the oak and tannins kick in, along with a healthy dose of spice. The finish is spicy vanilla creme.

Young, big and fruity, but it has structure. Drinks nicely now, but give it a couple of years and it should really hit its peak.

2008 Astica Malbec – $8

Right now the hottest grape on the planet is Malbec. Every day someone emails us “Where can we find Malbec?”. The problem is – it’s very hard to find an inexpensive Malbec that stands out. Well – we found one for you, and it’s from Argentina.

Jammy and fruity up front. Deep dark red. It’s full-bodied yet velvety with a slight spicy finish.

2008 Maryhill Winemaker’s Red – $12

Maryhill Winery was voted the Washington State Winery of the Year in 2009, if you have been following wines from Washington, then you know that is quite an honor. Located in The Columbia Valley, with Mt. Hood as a back drop. The Winemaker’s Red is their take on the classic Boureaux blend. The grapes a sourced from two Columbia Valley Vineyards, Millbrand Vineyard and Gunkel Vineyard. The wine is aged 10 Months in Stainless Steel, with oak staves added.(That means thin strips of oak are tossed into the vats to give the wine some oak taste, but not any aging capabilities)

One of our favorite things is when one of our favorite wines goes down in price and with Maryhill Winemaker’s Red that is the case.  For those of you that haven’t had this wine, it is a delicious blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc.  Upfront is tart cherry with a little spice and chocolate on the finish.  An absolute steal at this price.

for more information on this wine check with Jerry @ http://www.dobbysliquors.com/

2008 Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend $13

This one is a little complicated, Marquis Philips was a collaboration between American Dan Philips and the Australian husband and wife winemaking team of Sparky and Sarah Marquis. Sarah and Sparky broke away to start their own project, Mollydooker (Aussie slang for a lefty) Wines and Dan Philips brought in Chris Ringland to take over the winemaking duties. Chris and Dan’s many wines are produced under the R Wines label, but the Marquis Philips brand had an excellent reputation and a strong following, so those wines continue, but without Sparky and Sarah Marquis. Chris Ringland, though, continues to do right by this line of wines.

The Sarah’s Blend is 63% Shiraz, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, all sourced from the McLaren Vale Region of South Australia. Aged for 12 months in French and American oak, the alcohol content is 16% (in Australia the alcohol content listed on the label only has to be within 1 1/2% of the actual alcohol content, so this could be as high as 17 1/2%). The 2008 vintage received 91 points in Wine advocate and the previous 7 vintages each received at least 90 pts. So this has been a consistently excellent value priced wine.

Deep dark opaque crimson in color. Interesting nose, fig newtons, dark fruit and a light scent of freshly mowed grass. A big mouth feel, viscous, milky, the flavors burst into your mouth. A very rich taste, chocolate milk, raspberry jam, a touch of vanilla and fresh blueberries in cream. The blueberries and cream continue on to the finish and slowly fade away. The tannins are silky smooth and well integrated. A luscious tasting red blend, this is a wine you can sit back and drink with friends or will pair well with beef or pork.

P.S. The animal on the label is a Roogle, which is a combination of the Australian Kangaroo or Roo and the American Eagle.

2008 Monasterio De Las Vinas Garnacha/Syrah Blend – $7

Okay, we outdid ourselves this time.  We found another wine from the Cariñena region of Spain that is a ridiculous steal.  This 70% Garnacha 30% Syrah blend – aged 3 months in American oak – has a nose of strawberry and raspberry jam.  On the palate you get orange, raspberry and a little spicy pepper, with a finish that lasts and lasts!

It’s great with ribs and pizza and comes in at 13% alcohol.  It also scored an amazing 91 points with the Wine Enthusiast. You really need to buy this one by the case!

Sourced from a single vineyard, the “Monasterio de San Jose”, where for centuries monks produced wine. Nowadays, this is a large production wine made for the American market, but they really got it right. The Quality-Price Ratio (QPR) is off the charts for this one.

2008 Agostón Garnacha Syrah – $10

OK first of all you know our stance on wine with cute little critters on the label (we’re looking at you Yellow Tail, Long Neck & Tall Horse). Yeah usually horrible! But a wild boar isn’t exactly cute, plus a friend is really pushing for us to review Little Penguin Shiraz, so we might as well start somewhere.

This 60% Garnacha, 40% Syrah screw top blend hails from the Cariñena region of Spain which aside from giving the Carignan grape its name is right next to Calatayud in the shadows of the Ibérico mountain range. It gets its name from the wild boars that would sneak down into the vineyards at night to feast upon the grapes like – well, pigs.

It’s a light bodied, see-through crimson in the glass and noses like the black currant iced tea you get at Egg Harbor or Maggiano’s. A sip gets you raspberry and black cherry that fades into a nice wild herb and cocoa finish. It’s juicy and relaxed even at 13.5% alcohol.

This wine is like Lucky Charms, it’s magically delicious. Drink it all by itself to see what I’m talking about or drink it down with grilled steak skewers, Firecracker Shrimp or the Buffalo Wild Wings #4.

2008 Cotes Du Rhone Signargues La Granacha – $13

I was wandering thru the wine shop looking for a bottle to purchase, nothing on sale interested me.  I saw a Granacha (why the Spanish spelling for a French wine, I don’t know) from the Cotes du Rhone, I checked the back label and saw that it was imported by Eric Solomon, that was a good sign. I have had good luck with Eric Solomon wines, he has a knack with finding good “off the beaten path”wines.

I hit the internet to find a bit of information and found this is sourced from 80 year old Grenache vines from the Signargues region of the Rhone Valley. Organic and sustainable farming, unfiltered and unfined (that means they do nothing to get solids out of the wine). Half the wine sees 6 months in French oak, the other half aged in stain-less steel vats. The Signargues is not a well known wine area, so the wines do not command a high price. The 2007 vintage got 91 point in Wine Spectator.

Opaque purple with a contrasting red halo. The nose is French funk, black  licorice, the smell of coloring Easter eggs and raspberry jam. The taste is bright fresh fruit mixed with jammy fruit, blackberries and blueberries with a late splash of spice in the back of your mouth, a bit of acidity can be felt on the tongue. The finish is chocolate milk, berries and a touch of spice. A well structured wine, not just a ton of fruit, layered and nuanced. This is a versatile wine that can be paired with many different dishes and still be a good back porch sipper.

2008 Bitch Grenache – $9

You have probably seen this in the wine shop and thought, “With a name like that it can’t possibly be any good.” But you would be wrong, it’s actually a nice little Grenache. The back of the label is funny, they printed the word “bitch” 68 times in a row, then added, “ and bitch some more” for a total of 69 bitches. No other information other than what is required by law. Sourced from the Ebenezer region of the Barossa Valley in South Australia and made in a “drink it now” style. so it sees no oak. The alcohol content is 15.5% and in Australia the posted alcohol content has to be within 1.5% of the actual alcohol content, so it could possibly be 17% alcohol. The 2006 vintage of this wine got 90 points in Wine Spectator.

The color is a see thru cranberry red with orange highlights. The nose is fruit, but not fresh fruit, more like a bag of pungent fruit flavored hard candy. The mouth feel is light and oily, the flavors stick to the parts of your mouth the wine hits. It tastes of candied fruit, with spice reacting with your tongue. The finish is cherry Dr. Pepper, the finish lasts a long time, but the intensity fades fast. There are two main flavors competing for your attention, the sweet candied fruit and hot cinnamon spice, think strawberry Jolly Rancher followed by an Altoids. This may not be a wine you would want to pair with dinner, it would be better served with dessert or skip the food altogether and have it after dinner

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